The Merciless

Quick Synopsis: Sofia is new to school and she quickly befriends the popular girls. But these popular girls are convinced that they must fulfill the will of God and exercise their enemy, Brooklyn.

This book is pretty much Mean Girls meets Eli Roth, which is in all honesty, a winning combination. You might be asking, “then why not a 5 star rating?”

I gave this book 3.75 stars because, as a fan of horror films (and film in general) this book was not very original. It is quite literally Mean Girls meets any horror. It’s your basic new girl wants to be accepted story. So, in her attempts at gaining acceptance into the popular group, she becomes someone she doesn’t want to be.

Which brings on another problem I had with the book: Sofia. I understand the themes of acceptance and of being an outsider, which is perfectly portrayed through Sofia’s character, but I just feel like she was talked into everything too easily. BUT. Other than those two things, I really liked this book.

It was creepy and gory and just perfect for its target audience.

This is very honestly one of the best YA Horror books I’ve read. The popular girls in the school have religious backgrounds and it makes for some seriously creepy moments. While this book was good at being thrilling and for painting some horrific images, this book was not scary enough to resonate with me or frighten me in the real world.

But again, it makes for some seriously wicked images.

I may read it again around Halloween because it would definitely fit perfectly. (& maybe I’ll round it up to 4/5 stars by then.)

Would recommend to any fan of Young Adult horror and bitchy popular girls!